full 8 seater van requirement and tethers?

Hi!

#3 is on the way and we are in the market for a (most likely used) minivan. Current contenders are the Odyssey and the Sienna because those are the only ones (that we've found) with the options of 8 seats. So I have several Qs I'm hoping I can get some help with...or links to other threads that specifically address the topics.

1. Is putting a carseat the Odyssey Stow-and-Go middle row 3rd seat even an option? It looks so narrow and we would like to be able to fit three carseats across a middle row (1 Chicco RF Bucket, 1 RF Convertible yet to be determined, and 1 Graco Nautilus), and I'm just skeptical that the Stow-and-Go's are carseat compatible. If it is, can anyone tell me what carseats WILL fit in the Odyssey stow and go middle seat?

2. Sienna is looking like the front runner for me due to the above middle seat problem, but now I'm reading that newer models of Siennas have reduced the number of TETHERS in the vehicles (maybe from 5 to 3?) I would really prefer to have the option of 5 Tethers, so can anyone give me the years of Siennas that have 5 tethers, and what year they reduced the number of tethers?

3. Also on the tethers, I know nothing about the Odyssey's tether situation, so if anyone could enlighten me on Odyssey tethers from about 2004-2014 that would be great! Thanks!!

Bonus: If anyone has a good suggestion for a top quality (but probably not as expensive as britax) Convertible carseat/one that fits in a 3 across configuration, you can see from above that we are in the market for one but haven't decided on one (especially since the vehicle hasn't been picked out).

Thanks bunches!!!

This will help answer one of your questions, I hope . As for the others, I've got no clue, sorry.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=88571

If you're looking at 2011+, both were redesigned that year, and the Ody is WAY friendlier to car seats. The center 2nd row is better than any other (although it's far from perfect); the 3rd row is really nice. There are 6 tether anchors and 5 sets of lower anchors.

The 3rd row of the 2011+ Sienna is just dumb. Only one set of LATCH (which doesn't even line up with a seat belt, so if you use up the entire 60 section of the seat, essentially turning it into a 7 seat vehicle). I'm not sure if you can install any car seats in that jump seat. The center seat in the 3rd row is SUPER narrow, something like 11", so car seat installation is nearly impossible.

Just picked up my 2014 ody tonight very car seat friendly . 3 across easy !

lgenne said:

If you're looking at 2011+, both were redesigned that year, and the Ody is WAY friendlier to car seats. The center 2nd row is better than any other (although it's far from perfect); the 3rd row is really nice. There are 6 tether anchors and 5 sets of lower anchors.

The 3rd row of the 2011+ Sienna is just dumb. Only one set of LATCH (which doesn't even line up with a seat belt, so if you use up the entire 60 section of the seat, essentially turning it into a 7 seat vehicle). I'm not sure if you can install any car seats in that jump seat. The center seat in the 3rd row is SUPER narrow, something like 11", so car seat installation is nearly impossible.

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Ok I did finally read somewhere that 2011 was a big year of changes and let me see if I've got this straight, in 2011 the Ody's got a wider 2nd row middle seat and have 5-6 tethers, and the Siennas shrunk their 2nd row middle and removed about 2 tethers? Is that right? I can't even imagine why the Siennas would do that.

Anyways, my suspicion is that we will end up with something slightly older than 2011 due to cost right now. Prob 2008-2010. So for those years, what specifics, pointers, additional things I may not have addressed in the initial questions, about either they Ody's or Siennas and their carseat friendliness might you have to give me? Any help or thoughts is great.

marigold said:

Ok I did finally read somewhere that 2011 was a big year of changes and let me see if I've got this straight, in 2011 the Ody's got a wider 2nd row middle seat and have 5-6 tethers, and the Siennas shrunk their 2nd row middle and removed about 2 tethers? Is that right? I can't even imagine why the Siennas would do that.

Anyways, my suspicion is that we will end up with something slightly older than 2011 due to cost right now. Prob 2008-2010. So for those years, what specifics, pointers, additional things I may not have addressed in the initial questions, about either they Ody's or Siennas and their carseat friendliness might you have to give me? Any help or thoughts is great.

Click to expand...

You got it-

If you need to use the 8th seat, the 2011+ Odyssey is the best option, followed very closely by the 2004-2010 Sienna with the 8-passenger "Front and Center" seat option.

If you don't frequently need the 8th seat and don't need 3-across in the 2nd row, then don't dismiss the 2006-2010 Odyssey. That PlusOne seat can be easily stowed when you don't need it. Then, you can slide the outboard passenger captain's chair to the middle to form a bench for 2 carseats. You can then easily fit your third child in the third row, with room to fold part of the 3rd row seat for cargo. When needed, you reverse and can fit an 8th passenger. That Stow N Go seat is great for a child in a narrow booster up to a small teen or even a small adult on a short trip. Plus you still get a good complement of top tether anchors.

Agree with Darren.

We just bought an '09 Ody and we have 3 kids. I won't need 3 across often, but it's doable, like Darren said. The biggest problem is that if you'll be using the third row at the same time as a 3 across in the second row, one outboard seat and the center "plus one" seat needs to use either a moveable booster OR nothing, in order to slide one seat forward to let passengers get in the back. Some people have removed one of the seats armrests to allow you to slide one seat without it interfering with a rear facing car seat on the plus one. I probably will never do that. I'd just rearrange seats if needed...or for our trip next week, I'll do my best to get our Cocorro on the center plus one seat (rear facing) and just not use the third row at all.

hths